Syrian journalist killed in Homs

New York, February 8, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death of Syrian
journalist Mazhar Tayyara, a stringer for Agence France-Presse and other international
outlets, who was killed by government forces' fire in the city of Homs early
Saturday morning.

"We offer
our condolences to the family and friends of Mazhar Tayyara," said
Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "The Syrian conflict is growing increasingly dangerous
for all kinds of journalists, from citizens who have taken the role of
documenting unrest in the country to international journalists who report from
the frontlines."

Tayyara, known as "Omar the
Syrian," was reporting from the Homs neighborhood of Al-Khaldiyeh when
government forces shelled the district, the news website Citizenside reported. The
journalist began helping people injured from the blasts when "a second volley
of shells fell and he was hit," Tayyara's friend told AFP. The journalist sustained
multiple severe injuries and died in the hospital within hours, news reports
said.

Tayyara contributed news
footage to the London-based daily The
Guardian and the German daily Die
Welt, according to news reports. His footage has also appeared on
Al-Jazeera and CNN, AFP reported.

CPJ has documented the deaths of three journalists in Syria in four
months. In November, cameraman Ferzat Jerban was found
in Homs with his eyes gouged out. Basil al-Sayed, a videographer,
was shot and killed at a Homs checkpoint in late December. French
journalist Gilles
Jacquier was killed in January while covering a pro-regime rally in Homs.